The Nostalgia Shop
by amorsolo
Summary: She's the most appropriate employee for the most unlikely shop and she restores his faith in humanity. Or at least, makes him question his hatred for his generation. (In here, Borgin & Burkes accepts repairs to keep the shop going, and the generation basks in the glorious outcomes of a war their parents fought)
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is more of a method of mine to finish this one. It's supposed to be a oneshot but I couldn't finish it because of the almost weekly exams we had this semester. I'm on a break now, so there's finally time. Plus, since I may have some sort of 6k word count minimum per work, I think breaking this down into chapters would be good.**  
**

Title and concept are inspired by Woody Allen's _Midnight in Paris_. Not the plot though, just some concepts brought up there. This is also kind of a far-fetched situation but I got it in my head and, well.

And thank you to all those who reviewed my first work! Please let me know what you think of this one so I could improve on the next chapters. :D

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**The Nostalgia Shop**

**One**

A smile might be compulsory for employees in most other shops but not in Knockturn Alley and certainly not in Borgin & Burkes, but that is what welcomes Scorpius Malfoy when he enters the said shop. He even thinks he is seeing things, when the smile is from the most unlikely person to work there. So there he is, standing at the doorway, staring at his classmate who stands behind the counter.

"Good morning, Mal- Mr Malfoy," says Rose Weasley, "how may I help you?"

Scorpius blinks a few times before he finally finds his voice, "My father wanted me to get the Alexandrian safe box."

"Oh, the one Mr Borgin picked up a few days ago? He had to work quite hard on it. Just wait a moment," she says and then heads to the back office. Scorpius has never heard anybody call Marius 'Mr Borgin'. For as long as he could remember, the shop's young owner has always been just Marius.

Weasley comes out of the office with Marius behind her. Levitating between them was the safe box, with Marius pointing his wand at it and focusing on being careful.

Marius places the safe box on the counter and turns to Scorpius. "What's Mr Malfoy done to this thing to get it in this state? By the looks of it, he's done a lot of repairs on it by himself, too."

"He's put some nasty wards on it, that's all I know."

"A safe box like this doesn't need them. And just how nasty were those wards anyway?" says Marius. "That'll be 80 galleons, and that's because you get the friends and family discount." The youngest and only Borgin left, though still not a cheery person, is far more amiable than his predecessors. He has kept the shop running only out of promise to his father and his need to sustain his academic endeavours. Marius is studying wizard history, something Scorpius honestly finds useless but he will never say that to Marius' face.

Scorpius hands Marius the 80 galleons and whispers, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Marius raises an eyebrow at him but says nonetheless, "Sure, get inside my office. Rose," Weasley looks up from writing on a log book, "hold the shop for a while." She nods. Marius steps into his office and Scorpius follows.

Once inside the office-workshop hybrid, Scorpius asks, "Why is Rose Weasley working here?"

"I needed an assistant to help me here while I'm starting work on my dissertation and she needed a summer job," Marius says nonchalantly. "And among the applicants, she's the only one who understands the value and purpose of my items."

"How many applicants were there?"

"Two." Marius spins his chair and tinkers on a small device on his side away from Scorpius. "You know, if you're so interested in my new assistant, I'm sure she could take time and talk to you. We haven't got a lot of customers."

Scorpius is caught off guard by the comment. "I am not that interested in Rose Weasley. What makes you think that?"

"I saw you from back here when you came in," says Marius. "She got you tongue-tied. It's the first time I've ever seen or heard that happen to you." Marius then points a finger at his new assistant.

Rose Weasley is moving her wand in a spiral on top of an antique flame catcher. Blue sparks appear as the cracks seal and the larger details of the décor are repaired on the item. It is when Weasley finishes with it that Scorpius realizes that he has been observing her for a few minutes already. He turns back to the inside of the office slightly flustered.

He finds Marius smirking at him. "Oh, you're done staring at her now? Maybe you should take a closer look."

"I was just curious as to why she would work here, of all places," Scorpius says. "Don't they have their own shop or something?"

"That is true," says Marius, standing up from his desk and making his way to Scorpius. "Why don't you ask her why? I'm busy right now." He pushes Scorpius out the doorway, leaving the boy in the shop area with Rose Weasley.

For a while, he contemplates leaving without a word with his father's safe box but in the end, Scorpius says, "Hey, Weasley." She looks up from writing something on a musty-looking leather-bound book. "Why are you working here? Of all places?" _That was blunt_, Scorpius thinks. He worries that Weasley might take it the wrong way, especially when he is already notorious for being a sarcastic prick in school.

She chuckles instead, "Our shop is nearly overstaffed. Uncle George doesn't believe in nepotism and there was a bloke who needed the job more than I did. And I'm working _here_ since this is the most interesting other shop in the area that's hiring students."

"I didn't know you found Wizarding families' memorabilia interesting, much less those others associate with the Dark Arts."

"I think an item is only as good as the wizard using it," she says. She touches the edge of his father's safe box and continues, "I mean, it's like this one. With the Malfoy family crest and looking ages old, others would consider it a Dark item but I doubt your family uses it for that purpose now."

"Really, you do?" he says, puzzled that someone like Weasley would doubt that the Malfoys would get involved in the sort of things that parts of Wizarding Britain still refuses to make them forget.

She nods. "With your father's work in the Prophet for over twenty years, I think he's done some noble things," she pauses and smiles at Scorpius with what seemed to him like embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to talk on."

Scorpius shakes his head immediately, "No, it's all right. I asked and you answered. Pretty well, actually." He takes a look at the safe box and ponders for a while. "It's just strange to see you, of all people, in a shop that profits partly on the longing that pureblood families have of the olden days that's actually made it hard for certain other people."

"When I said interesting, it's not just because this shop's dealing with rare items," she says, "I quite enjoy how some customers react when they find out I'm a Weasley." Including his, no doubt. Although he knows who she is, Scorpius is quite sure that he gave her a reaction akin to what other customers might have given her.

He is surprised that he is having a decent conversation with her when they have never exchanged so much as two words more than necessary before, and to see that Weasley is answering so honestly to someone with whom she has never really interacted makes Scorpius wonder.

A glance on the shop's grandfather clock informs Scorpius that he has to get home soon and he pulls out his wand to carefully shrink the safe box, just like how his father had instructed him before he went out of the manor. "I'd best be going. Pa told me to get back as soon as I get this," he says. He takes the box into his hand and smiles at Weasley. "I'll see you." She returns his goodbye and he walks out of the shop.

/

When Scorpius gets home, he heads straight to his father's study. Draco Malfoy is reviewing his work, bent over his desk and writing occasional notes on the piece of parchment in front of him. Scorpius enters without knocking just as he has always done and carelessly plops down on the armchair in front of his father's desk.

"Un-shrink that safe box first and then start telling me why you look like you don't want to be here," his father says, looking up, "especially when you were too unwilling to leave earlier."

"What do you mean I don't want to be here? I'm glad I got back." How his father came up with the idea escapes Scorpius. Nevertheless, he puts the safe box on the floor and releases it from its temporary shrinking spell.

His father stands up and inspects the safe box, checking the locking mechanism and then the spell resistance. "Marius did a spectacular job with this. I thought it couldn't be salvaged when it nearly exploded on my face." Without looking up from the box, he asks, "So, what's happened that's making you look like you want to be somewhere else?"

"Do I really?"

"To some other people, maybe not," his father says distractedly, "but I know better."

Scorpius sighs and decides to just say anything that comes into his mind. "Nothing happened in Borgin & Burkes, Pa. I got the safe box, just like you said, and came back immediately after talking to Rose Weasley there for just a little more than five minutes."

It is at that moment that his father takes his attention away from the safe box and puts them all on his son. "Rose Weasley? That makes sense. Although why she is in Borgin & Burkes is quite puzzling." His father laughs and sits back down behind his desk, smirking at his son.

Still baffled at what his father is implying, Scorpius says, "Pa, I have no idea what's actually making sense to you."

"The Weasley girl," his father says knowingly, "the only Hogwarts student that you refer to by a name. Not like 'that blonde, air-headed waif' or 'the short, red-faced hooligan', for example."

Scorpius never realized until now that he refers to Weasley by her name, let alone that he has mentioned her sometime to his father. Apparently, he has talked about her; he just doesn't remember it well enough. Well, his father did point out to him that he refers to his schoolmates by anything but their names a few years ago, and it wasn't until then that Scorpius realized what he has been doing.

"I never knew _why_, though," his father says quite absently as he goes back to his work. "I would think that you would refer to the girl's entire family by some clever alias you'd come up with. I never expected that it would be Granger and Weasley's daughter that you would actually name, especially when she's neck and neck with you academically. Or is that the reason?"

Scorpius shrugs. "I never realized that I do that until now, Pa. I thought the feeling of disdain between me and the whole Hogwarts student body was mutual." He pauses to think for a while and continues, "Maybe I don't hate her as much and maybe that's because I actually have to recognize her when she beats me. I don't really know."

"You can't stand how your classmates are basking in their parents' glory so I find it strange how you don't hold that same disdain for the Weasley girl, of all people," his father shortly looks up from his work and dips his quill into the inkwell.

This time it takes Scorpius just a few seconds to think of a possible explanation. "I don't think Rose Weasley basks in the glory more than she works for recognition of her own skills." His father raises an eyebrow in question and Scorpius continues, "I mean, sure, she's had it easier at first but she's good at what she does all by herself. I've seen her work a few times already; she _does_ deserve credit. _I_ do, too, but that's another topic."

"Well, I am glad to know that you are capable of not despising someone of your generation," says his father, "even if the exception is the weasel's daughter." At that, Scorpius cannot protest and just gives a halfhearted nod.

* * *

So, that's that. I try to think of devices that would sort of fit in their universe, hence the safe box and the flame catcher. Thank you for reading, guys! Let me know what you think of it. :D


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Plug: I think deciding to watch Argo by myself yesterday was one of my smarter decision over the past two weeks.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Marius.

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**Two**

One afternoon a week later, Scorpius finds himself on another errand to Borgin & Burkes. His father wants to have a Hand of Glory he said he had modified some time ago taken a look at and no one they cannot trust may know about it. Scorpius thinks it is only to get him out of his father's study and allow the man a few hours of work without his son shooting question after question about the parts he has finished. His father would have gone to the shop himself, only he wants to work in peace for a while.

Scorpius enters the shop to see Rose Weasley entertaining a tall woman who looks like she has something bad under her nose. He waits until Weasley sees him before approaching the counter.

"Oh, hello, Malfoy," says Weasley with a small smile, "Mr Borgin went out for a while, I'm afraid. Can you wait a couple of minutes?"

"I'm in no rush, Weasley," Scorpius says. The look on the woman's face is a few contortions away from scandalized. "I think Pa wants me out of the house for a few hours so I can't pester him in his study."

The woman takes her attention away from the items in front of her and proceeds to ask if the rumours about Draco Malfoy are true. Scorpius pays her no mind and instead watches Weasley as she carefully lays out a few artefacts in front of the woman. Weasley starts to look uneasy and irritated at the suddenly distasteful tone the woman is using.

It is a few more minutes before the woman stops glaring at Weasley, decides on the right jinx chain and finishes her transaction in an obvious hurry to get out of the shop. Weasley looks relieved at the customer's exit, and Scorpius cannot blame her.

"I thought you enjoy other people's reactions when they find out who you are," says Scorpius in an attempt to lighten the air around them. He thinks he's done a bad job when Weasley slightly frowns.

"Once in a while, someone who hates my lot comes in and doesn't even try to hide it," she says. "Usually, Mr Borgin takes over but he's confirming something about an artefact we found in the storeroom yesterday. It's a good thing you're here, even if you did let slip my surname."

"I'm sorry about that." Scorpius hopes that he sounds sincere enough.

Weasley smiles at him. "Don't be. You might have inadvertently told her that I'm a Weasley but you also kept me from twisting these jinx chains around her fingers." Her voice is amused and playful and Scorpius suddenly feels his stomach flop. "So, what is it that brings you here?"

Her question brings Scorpius back to his senses and he shoves his hands into his cloak pockets. "It's Pa's, uh," he pulls out a silver pouch which contains the Hand of Glory and carefully hands it to Weasley. "He told me that it might not be safe to look at it since the charm he put might be wearing off already. It's a Hand of Glory."

Weasley's eyes grew wide at his last sentence. Clearly she has heard of it. "I think we should wait for Mr Borgin. He would know what to do," she says. "What else did your father say about it?"

"Only that renewing the modifications he does on the item is getting more often. He didn't say what he's exactly done to it. Might be the Hand's absorbed as much as it could."

"That or the Hand is developing resistance to the charms." She looks at the pouch pensively for a while and holds it with such caution. "I'll take this inside. I'm getting quite nervous just holding it."

Scorpius nods and watches Weasley walk and disappear into the office. He then berates himself for actually watching her do such an ordinary thing.

"Why are you nervous about the Hand of Glory?" he asks when Weasley got back to the counter. "An item's just as dark as the owner."

"It's not the same with dangerous items I have never encountered before."

"Point." He probably should have handled it with as much care as Weasley did. Well, he's still alive and functioning.

There is a lull in the conversation that neither of them seemingly knows how to continue. Scorpius looks around the shop hoping that he can find something for them to talk about.

It is Weasley who breaks the silence. "Why does your father want you out of the house again?"

Scorpius turns his head too quickly and hurts his neck, something he tries not to show. "I'm asking him too many questions that he's actually working at a slower pace."

"You? Asking _too many_ questions?" she says. "Quite a far cry from how you are at school. Always keeping quiet, never bothering to ask about anything in class."

"That's because I don't need to clear out anything."

"Exactly," Weasley leans over the counter and closer to Scorpius. "To hear that you're actually asking about _something_, that you need someone to explain it to you, it's surprising. And it sounds like you're really close to your father."

He laughs at her remarks, "Why is it surprising to know that I'm that close to Pa?"

"Because you stay away from everybody in Hogwarts. You never talk to anyone more than necessary, and when you do, it's usually in this stinging tone. I was actually quite surprised you didn't talk to me that way last week. And I heard that the Slytherin Quidditch captain had to beg before you covered for Harper Flint when she broke her leg."

"_That_ was because I didn't fancy getting blamed for a defeat, especially when I know that I just don't have enough skill to match hers. If you remember, we lost that game terribly," he explains. "Anyway, I seem to remember seeing you in the library studying alone quite often."

Weasley huffs. "The difference is that when I go to Hogsmeade or when there's a game, I enjoy myself in the company of other people and not just sit in the Hog's Head bent over a leather-bound journal."

This time, it is Scorpius who is surprised since he did not know she has noticed him in the Hog's Head. He does not even go to that pub regularly and it does not fit that Weasley, of all people, is the one who knows.

When he doesn't say anything, Weasley asks, "Why do you stay away from everyone?" She looks away and to her hands instead. From his position, Scorpius can see just how freckly her cheeks are. He thinks for a while, not sure how to explain his sentiments about the people in school, but gets interrupted by the door opening.

Marius Borgin looks at his customer and his assistant disbelievingly. Scorpius then realizes how little space there is between him and Weasley. "Alright, what does your father have for me now?" says Marius.

Scorpius moves slightly away from Weasley, "It's his Hand of Glory. He said you already know that he's modified it. The problem is that he needs to renew the charms more often."

"We think it might be that the Hand's absorbed enough or that it's already resisting," Weasley says now standing up straight behind the counter, "I've put it on your table, Mr Borgin. I didn't think it would be wise for me to handle it."

Marius heads to the office as he eyes Scorpius. "Anyone in their right mind would not even touch a Hand of Glory that belongs to someone else."

"I didn't touch it. Pa's put it in some pouch," Scorpius says while he and Weasley follow Marius into the office.

"And he expects me to fix it, doesn't he?" Marius lifts the pouch gingerly from his table and stares at the item. "You know, honestly, I'm not sure how to repair this thing. I don't even know if it should be repaired. This is a straight out Dark object, Scorpius. How your father was able to keep modifying it means that he's really smart or really stupid."

"He'll say he's really smart."

"Of course, he will. But they're not mutually exclusive." Marius opens a few drawers and then pulls out a heavy-looking piece of black cloth. He wraps it around his hand and reaches into the pouch. "Do _not_ look at the hand. Focus on me and then mobilize me if I suddenly freeze."

Scorpius and Weasley wait patiently as Marius slowly draws the Hand. Scorpius holds his breath as Marius' face warps into something like anxious and constipated. A few agonizing seconds pass and the Hand of Glory is out in the open.

"Mr Borgin?" says Weasley, her wand drawn.

Marius lets out a huge sigh and puts the Hand on the table. "Well, the charm's still holding out, but I don't know for how long. I'll just put it in a shielding cage and examine it there." He then turns to Scorpius, "Does Mr Malfoy want it now? Because I'm pretty sure this is going to take around a week."

"I don't think so," says Scorpius. "He just doesn't want it to be seen by other people."

"Fair enough. Do you want to wait for the diagnosis or I'll just owl it to you?"

Scorpius stays quiet while thinking of what will work. Surely his father can use more time alone, but with the last thing that Weasley asked him, Scorpius is not sure what he could do in the shop.

"Just tell me when you want to go home," Marius looks annoyed at how Scorpius did not answer, and then tells Scorpius and Weasley to get out of the office because even the diagnosis is potentially dangerous.

Once out of the office, Weasley asks him the same question she last did, this time while looking at nobody but him.

Scorpius tries to look away. "It's just that I can't stand people my age. Most of them, at least." He adds the last bit in hopes that Weasley will not think that he can't stand her, when she is among the few he actually can.

"That goes without saying," she says. "The question is _why_. Why can't you stand people our age? What did we ever do to you?" Under the slightly demanding tone Weasley uses, Scorpius hears what he thinks is genuine curiosity.

"I don't know. They exist?" He struggles for the right words and the right reason because really, he cannot pinpoint the exact reason. His father is always the one who could extract reasons from him, or, more often than not, read and tell him his reasons.

"Is it because we feel so important?" Weasley says. There is a knowing expression on her face that Scorpius recognizes from when she answers a question correctly in class.

There is no big revelation in Scorpius' head, only recognition of something he has always thought of. "I suppose so. But it's not just that." Now that Weasley has implanted something in his head, Scorpius suddenly is able to pull from the years he spent judging his peers and (very rarely) himself. "It's how we act like we are this ray of light that came after some dark and gritty period the past generation fought in and how most of us think that the only way that our world could become perfect is through _our_ actions, that we somehow have this unique obligation to uphold whatever values we say prevail now.

"It's stupid. Harry Potter is a hero and he had a larger responsibility he had to carry out. He deserves to think highly of himself and does not even do that as much as we do. We are just basking in the glory of the previous generation and think ourselves so important and that we are obliged to create some sort of utopia when we haven't done anything to prove it.

"The problem with the way our generation thinks is that we see ourselves as this league of heroes who could create the best era we will ever see, and the mere fact that we think that says that we probably can't."

He slumps at the counter and catches his breath for a few seconds. When he looks up, Weasley meets his eyes, who looks she wants to say something. "I get it, you know. Not entirely, but, well…" She gives him a small smile and shrugs.

Scorpius blinks. "You do?"

She does not say anything, and instead looks at her watch and then towards the window where the street is in view. She then approaches the office doorway and says, "Mr Borgin, can I take my leave earlier? It's only for today."

Scorpius hears Marius allow Weasley to take off and something else that seems to concern him.

"Don't worry, I was planning to. Thanks, Mr Borgin." She goes back to the counter, scribbles something on a logbook and grabs a few items from under the counter. "Let's go," she says.

Scorpius, of course, is confused at what is happening. Weasley might have noticed so she grabs his arm and drags him out of the shop. When they step into the street, Scorpius comes to his senses and asks, "Where are we going?"

"You're going to accompany me to the Leaky Cauldron from where I'll Floo home," she starts walking with him in tow. "Maybe grab a few butterbeers if you'd want to. After all, you just let out a lot of deep repressed emotion to me, of all people, and you could use a few gulps."

Scorpius is not entirely surprised that he is unable to say no and just goes along with Weasley's plan. When they arrive at the pub, she drags him to a table and heads straight to the bar, only to come back with two bottles of cold butterbeer.

"I prefer them warm," she sits down across him and slides a bottle into his hand, "but there's still a few days until summer ends and we might as well enjoy this sort."

For what seems like an hour, they just talk, and Scorpius is only mildly surprised that of all things Weasley would ask him about, it is his father. He chatters on, of course, and Weasley laughs and looks genuinely interested up until they finished two bottles each and she has to get home.

He Floos home right after her and once again heads straight to his father's study. He is surprised to find the door locked, and when he puts his ear against it, he hears his mother's giggling, prompting him to walk away, slightly flushed.

A few minutes before dinner, his father goes to his room and asks about the Hand of Glory. Scorpius explains what Marius is going to do for the diagnosis and that he left before the Marius is finished.

"And what of the Weasley girl?" his father asks. Scorpius tells him everything that happened, needing to subdue himself so he wouldn't seem too animated. It is useless, anyway, since Draco Malfoy could read his son like an open book, and Scorpius is only keeping calm out of pride.

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Danke :D


	3. Chapter 3

Final chapter here. Disclaimers go here, so does my ownership of Marius Borgin. I upped the rating, too.

Enjoy.

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**Three**

The Hand of Glory turns out to have absorbed too much and is shielding itself from more charms. Marius says so in a letter he sends week later, a few days after Scorpius got his Hogwarts letter. His father _finally_ comes with him to the shop the morning after getting the letter. However, with the last encounter with Rose Weasley, Scorpius does not know how he will behave when they walk into the shop and see Weasley there. His father is, after all, on civil but less than friendly terms with the Weasleys.

His father looks at him curiously as they walked along the alley, "What are you so nervous about?"

"I'm not," he says, mostly to convince himself.

His father puts his hand on Scorpius' shoulder and bends towards his head, "If I correctly recall why we're here, you're not introducing a girlfriend to me, Scorpius. We're _just_ retrieving my Hand of Glory."

Unsurprisingly, Scorpius blushes at the statement and eyes his smirking father. He holds back his words, thinking that they will only worsen the situation. Either way, since his father is the one who insinuated it, and if he is serious, it might actually hold some truth. Scorpius has learned to accept that Draco Malfoy knows about his son's sentiments before anyone else.

Also, he's barely had any other thing in his mind but Rose Weasley for days already so there's that.

They enter Borgin & Burkes to see Weasley coming out of Marius' office with a small heavy-looking pouch. She immediately calls Marius from inside and then approaches Scorpius and his father.

"Good morning, Malfoy," says Weasley, who immediately realizes her mistake, "and Mr Malfoy." She grins sheepishly and uncertainly extends her hand to the older Malfoy. "Rose Weasley, sir. I work here as Mr Borgin's assistant."

To Scorpius's surprise, his father gives a brief smile and shakes Weasley's hand. "Good to meet you, Miss Weasley. Is Marius busy?"

"No, sir, he's just preparing the, uh, artefact. He says you still have to perform a few things on it. The restoration isn't complete yet and he wouldn't let me do it."

"I'm not surprised. This isn't among the usual repairs Marius does but he's the only person I trust with these things."

At that moment Marius comes out of his office. "Mr Malfoy, I see you've met my assistant. We have some things you still have to address on the Hand. It already stole a few hours off of my time allotted for my dissertation and I still need you to do something."

"I'm sorry about that," says Scorpius' father. "I won't say you didn't have to because I know items like this get worse when put aside. Do we start now?"

"Yes, we do. Rose, can you keep Scorpius busy for a while? I'll have to close the shop, too, so you'd have to take him somewhere else."

Scorpius can see the smirk already forming on his father's face. Marius is indifferent, probably because he knows Weasley will agree. Scorpius already knows he likes Marius' proposition; he just isn't sure he will like whatever will follow from his father.

"We could start getting materials for school," says Weasley. "We could, right?" She turns to him with a little uncertainty.

"I suppose so," Scorpius says then turns to his father. "I'll see you later, Pa."

There are only a few people in the alley, most of them too busy with their own businesses that they do not notice two teenagers walk out of Borgin and Burkes. Only now does it come to Scorpius that walking around in Knockturn Alley is the safest thing for Weasley to do. She notices his silence and looks at him questioningly.

"Is it safe for you to walk around Knockturn Alley alone?" he asks. "Aren't the people here, well, a bit hostile to those not… well, you get my point."

"I go to the shop pretty early in the morning when there are barely any people outside, and after work, I just pull my hood up, which is actually the usual fashion for people here in this alley, I noticed," she says. "And I'm not alone now; I'm with you. They know you, don't they?"

He shrugs. "They know Marius, of course. They know Pa. I assume they know me by association."

"You look so much like your father, one look at you and they know."

"Well," Scorpius says just when Weasley takes his arm. He lets her drag him out of Knockturn Alley and into a less densely packed area of Diagon Alley where the only shop they could benefit from sells quills and parchment. They squeeze through the people gathered in the entrance and go straight to the aisles.

They have a few rolls of parchment on their hands when they find themselves alone in an aisle holding high-quality quills. He rakes through the quills and selects one identical to the quill he managed to break a month ago, and then sees Weasley looking at him pensively.

"What is it?"

"I've thought about what you said last week," Weasley says as she walks a bit closer to Scorpius. "About why you don't like the people in school, I've been thinking of why we behave like that and I do understand why you would hate it."

Despite the silence that follows, Scorpius thinks what she said has more to follow. "I'm sensing a 'but' here."

"But," she grins as he raises his eyebrows in anticipation of what she will say next. "You know that Borgin & Burkes has turned into a nostalgia shop for the old Wizarding families, right?"

"Yes, but what does it have to do with it, exactly?" he asks as Weasley inspects a handsome eagle feather quill.

"Do you know how people could think that there is a way better period in the past, where standards are higher, or the creativity is flowing, or it's really just a better time to live in?"

He nods, remembering certain high-society pureblood families his father hates to socialise with and only does so when Grandmother Cissy asks hard enough.

"It's probably some version of it that made Borgin & Burkes what it is now. Some of the old families still secretly wish for the days when the way of living is what they think of as proper and refined, and they think this era is in a very liberal, almost vulgar state."

"Yeah, I see what you mean."

Weasley puts down the quill. "I think it's the opposite thing for our generation. With people telling us that this is the world that the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army fought for and that things are better than they used to be. There is no era that we could think of as having higher standards and values, not without being argued out of a room by other people. We can't look up to any other period, and when we find flaws in it, we feel like we are the only people who could set them right."

Scorpius thinks that only Rose Weasley could give him a rebuttal and not annoy him. "I don't know," he says. "I think it's still in the vein of giving ourselves more importance than we deserve. It's no excuse for us to run around with hero complexes."

"I'm not saying it's not assuming or anything. I just think there's a reason for it," said Weasley. "Some of us really are just basking in the glory of being _this_ generation, but maybe some are sincere. I admit it is quite obnoxious to think we're heroes when we really haven't done much, but if it's not we who will work on what we see is wrong, who will? And I'm not saying this necessarily requires a grand revolution, though, so you may have me on that boat."

He thinks, _yes, please, I will have you on my boat if you let me_. And then winces at what he just thought of. He shakes his head to get rid of those thoughts and just says, "If you put it that way, maybe I will reconsider my opinion on the Hogwarts student body. No guarantees, though."

Weasley giggles at that and picks up the quill she was inspecting a while earlier. He just follows her to the counter quietly, not sure of what they can still talk about when they have just finished with the subject they started a week ago.

When they exit the shop, he realizes that he just poured himself out (and chattered about his father) to someone he was not friendly with until two weeks ago. And despite the fact that she gave him some of her own thoughts, he does not know much about her as much as she already knows about him.

They are walking among busy students and parents when Scorpius thinks of taking a chance and asking Weasley about her. "You know, you found out a lot about me the past few weeks and I don't know half as much about you."

"What do you mean?" she says. "You want to know more about me, is that it?" A smile makes its way to her face and Scorpius thinks she knows exactly what he is implying.

"Hey, I poured out some of my deepest thoughts to you, Weasley," he says. "It's only fair." He isn't completely serious, but maybe Rose will consider sharing a semi-private thought to him and he certainly doesn't mind that.

"Well, what am I going to tell you?" she turns to look at him, but he just shrugs and doesn't answer. "Fine, how about –how did your career counselling in fifth year go? What did you say you want to do? Because when Neville asked me I just completely went blank."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "I thought this is about _you_ now but since you asked, I said I'll just write somewhere. It doesn't have to be in the Prophet, I'm just going to write. I don't even know about what."

"Well, at least you have an idea. I thought I'll come up with an answer before seventh year but that didn't happen. I still don't know what I want to do."

This is something he definitely never expected. Rose Weasley, the smartest in their year (perhaps apart from him), does not have an idea what to do after Hogwarts. "I'm sure you'll do fine anywhere."

"That's what Neville said. I'll do fine as a Ministry official. Or a Healer, or a teacher, or an Auror. Said I could do a lot of things for the 'betterment of the wizard community'," she sighed heavily. "I don't exactly mind doing _that_. I'm just not –they're probably expecting me to launch a revolutionary whatnot and I'm not sure if that's what _I_ have to do to contribute to society." She laughs a bit bitterly.

"So you tried out working for Marius?" Scorpius is not completely sure where she is heading. "Or you just tried out any job?"

"No, that's not it. You might not expect it, but Mr Borgin pays really well." She shows him the inside of her coin bag and the proof of Marius' surprisingly generous pay. "I'm going to use this money and some of my savings to do something after graduation, before the businesses and agencies start taking applicants. Find out what I really want to do."

"A journey of self-discovery, Rose Weasley sets out for an adventure to find her heart's desire. Very dramatic, I must say. Maybe you should just look for a Mirror of Erised," he smiles at the small pout forming on her lips.

Rose makes a face at him. "You make me sound like one of those pseudo-philosophical nuts. But maybe, yeah. Years with all these inspiring war heroes and I still don't know what to do. Maybe what I need is a change of scenery. Go somewhere else. Or go on the road and meet all sorts of people." She seems to think about what she said for a while and runs her hand in her hair. "Merlin, that is unnecessarily dramatic."

"I told you," he says. "But it also sounds like a plan."

She smiles. "Yeah. It does. That way I wouldn't fall into that category with the hero complex you so disdain, Malfoy. I rather like being with you. I'm glad I talked to you about this." The last bits, of course, make Scorpius mentally celebrate. With all that Weasley shared, Scorpius thinks he got a good bargain for pouring out his sentiments to her for the past two weeks.

They stop by a few more shops on the way to the Leaky Cauldron, buying the materials and books they need. Weasley goes into a Quidditch supplies shop and just looks at the goods, saying that she does not have to play in the team to appreciate the things in there. It is surprising that in just three encounters, he finds out that he does not hate everyone in school, that he can pour out his thoughts to someone not his father, and that he can have a lengthy conversation and spend hours with someone his age happily.

He berates himself for not making any effort to talk to the one person he thinks is decent in school before. Maybe then, he wouldn't be some misanthropic prick. Then again, two weeks ago, Scorpius never felt the need to question his attitude towards people his age, but Weasley can see the good both in their generation and in people like his father. It's people like her that make him doubt his disdain for his generation.

Actually, scratch that. It's Rose Weasley that makes him doubt his disdain for his generation.

Scorpius sees the group of redheads plus one or two black-haired blokes near the passageway to the Leaky Cauldron and turns to Weasley. "There's my family. I think I should go to them now," she says.

"Weasley," he supposes he should tell her before school starts, or he might have no chance at all, "you know that as of now, you're the only person my age that I actually like spending time with, right?" He watches her face in hopes that she does not misinterpret it one way or another.

As usual, she smiles at him instead. "I was thinking it in the last week. I'm glad I'm right." She looks to where her family is gathered and checks if they have noticed the pair of them yet. They haven't. "I wish I'm also right in thinking that you consider us friends now."

His breath hitches for a fraction of a second and he contemplates telling her that there might be something more, at least on his part. "Of course, we are." He doesn't want to jump into a pool when he's not yet sure of his footing on the bank.

What could he say; he's no Gryffindor.

"That's great!" she says. "I mean, well… They say that the pressure of the N.E.W.T.s are enough to push students to madness one term in, and even if I still don't know what I want to do, it would probably be wise to do well in the N.E.W.T.s and have some form of fallback. So, yeah, if you need someone to keep you sane, maybe when your journal isn't enough for you anymore or something, I'll be there. And maybe you could keep me sane, too."

The thought of actually spending time with Rose this year and not just trying to understand people by himself excites him and Scorpius tries to keep himself from smiling too widely. He is not sure if he succeeds. "What about your friends, though? Won't they mind?"

"I don't think Albus will. Most of my family might think you're a git but Al just thinks you're terribly antisocial. My other friends will be off with their boyfriends anyway while also managing to bug me to grab one myself." She colours and looks away from him. "I think I should be going now. I'll see you on the train, yeah?"

"Of course," he says. He'll definitely see her. In fact, Scorpius thinks he will actually be looking for her.

For a few seconds, they just stood on the street grinning at each other. "Alright. Yeah. So, bye for now, Scorpius."

"I'll see you, Rose." He is waiting for her to walk to where her many cousins are when she turns around. Scorpius is surprised when she kisses him on the cheek. She pulls away in mere seconds, still smiling, and only then does she approach her family.

Now there's a Gryffindor through and through.

Of course, Scorpius just stands where he is, slightly shocked. He only comes back to his senses when he sees Rose turn around wave him goodbye. He waves back at her, grinning, and she goes back to talking to her cousin who is in Slytherin with him –_Albus Potter_, he corrects himself. Although it might take a while before he gets used to it.

He feels a hard pat on his shoulder and sees his father looking smug. "I can't believe I'm actually not outraged that you're friends with a Weasley. Although that's what happens when the only other friends you have are me, your Ma and maybe Marius."

Scorpius rolls his eyes and tries to steer the conversation away from Rose. "How is the Hand, Pa?"

"It took a number of complicated rejuvenating spells on it to get it back to how it originally was," his father says. "Marius still needed me to cast a number of spells on it before the job's done. Enough of that; can't afford to talk about it here. So, have you gotten everything you need?"

"I just need your help in choosing between some materials, just a couple, and I'm done."

His father urges him to start moving. "Alright, let's take a look at them, then. I promised your mother we will be home before or shortly after she is." He puts an arm around Scorpius' shoulders and guides him through the crowd.

A man suddenly bumps into his father and shoots them a venomous look. Draco Malfoy picks a cigarette from the case in his breast pocket and lights it slowly with the charmed Zippo lighter his wife gave him twenty years ago. The man who bumped into them walks away irritated.

"Why do you do that again?" The way his father can make lighting cigarettes seem so dramatic never fails to amuse Scorpius.

His father laughs, "It irks them to see that the one and only Draco Malfoy participates in such a Muggle and filthy habit. It shatters every image they have of me in their heads, although I don't really want you to do this." He gestures to the cigarette between his fingers and puts it back between his lips.

"It's amazing how you deal with that sort of thing after all these years," Scorpius says as they start walking again.

"I have you, your mother, and a job that lets me insult people," his father says after blowing out some smoke. "It's quite like how you hate everybody your age and all of a sudden the Weasley girl comes and restores your faith in humanity. Things aren't perfect, but they're more than what you ever asked for."

Scorpius puts aside the fact that his father once again brought up the whole Rose Weasley situation and instead marvels at his father's words. Rose restored his faith in his generation, but without his father, Scorpius didn't think it would even be possible.

By the time they reach the cauldron shop, the cigarette has already been crushed under his father's boot and forgotten somewhere on the cobblestone street.

* * *

Thank you for taking time to read! I really like feedback, too.


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